The rise in flows of asylum seekers from the 90s onwards has led Europe to redefine the protection sanctioned in the post war years at the international level, adopting status recognition procedures which allow the principles/symbols to remain intact while modifying (or limiting) the contents. The legislative evolution in Italy follows the same pattern: while attempts to adopt a complete immigration and asylum act struggle to take off, in Italy the matter is partially regulated, in its procedural aspects, by the «Martelli Law», extensively reformed in 2002 with the «Bossi-Fini Law». The paper outlines the fundamental legislative passages, taking into consideration also the draft law under discussion in Parliament, the executory rule which requires approval for the coming into effect of modifications due to the «Bossi-Fini Law» on asylum, and the risks of unconstitutionality derived by the latent conflict between legitimate worries to curb clandestine immigration and the duty to protect those who flee from persecutions in their own country.only subscribers can see the full article